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From: buchbind@agrigene.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d
Subject: Re: jokes without credit again
Message-ID: <145@agrigene.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Jun-85 13:47:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: agrigene.145
Posted: Thu Jun 20 13:47:24 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 04:14:24 EDT
References: <390@osu-eddie.UUCP> <141@pyuxii.UUCP>
Organization: Agrigenetics Madison,Wi.
Lines: 23

> Does Playboy mention any credit?  Noooooo.  Does any comedian
> mention the source of their jokes?  Nooooo.

    Comedians pay writers.  Playboy, I believe, gives some sort of 'bounty' to
people who send in jokes.
    As far as I'm concerned, if you get the joke straight out of a publication
the source should be credited.  Telling a joke gives the teller a reputation
as a wit.  Much of the humor can come from the delivery.  To copy something
verbatum without credit is misrepresentation.  The poster gets credit for being
a good joke-teller without having to give a good delivery or contributing to the
content of the joke.
    I don't know how the courts have interpreted it, but the copyright statutes
do not except jokes per se.  Copying many jokes vebatum from a single source
could in violation of the law.  My guess (I'm not a lawyer) is that what goes
on in net.jokes probably falls under the fair use exception.
-- 

	Barry Buchbinder
	Agrigenetics Corp.
	5649 E. Buckeye Rd.
	Madison, WI  53716  USA
	(608)221-5000
	{seismo,ihnp4,harpo}!uwvax!astroatc!nicmad!agrigene!buchbind